The Edmonton Oilers announced this afternoon that they have placed Markus Niemelainen on waivers. This likely means he will be sent down to the Bakersfield Condors if he clears waivers, which I assume he will.
🔁 #Oilers roster move 🔁
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 13, 2023
Defenceman Markus Niemelainen has been placed on waivers. #LetsGoOilers
Once Niemelainen is off the Edmonton Oilers roster, they can sign or call up another player. My best guess is that the Edmonton Oilers will sign a player on a PTO with the team. That player is Adam Erne.
Of all the players that were fighting for the one available spot, Erne was the only one who kept getting better and finished the preseason being noticeable in that spot. Will he play Saturday against the Canucks who knows. A lot of the lineup will depend on the health of Mattias Ekholm.
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Friday Afternoon Edmonton Oilers Practice
In the Friday practice, it looked like the Edmonton Oilers are making some changes in their defensive pairings. The most important change is that Ekholm was paired and appears to be ready to play tomorrow.
It also appears that the pairings are going to be changed up. I guess the Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse pairing will be no more. Here is what the pairings looked like at practice.
Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – Cody Ceci
Brett Kulak – Philip Broberg
Markus Niemelainen – Vincent Desharnais
With these pairings and the fact that Neimelainen is going to be sent down, the game-day question is back, are the Edmonton Oilers going 11-7 or 12-6 again? They now have the ability to dress a whole roster on Saturday.
Bakersfield Condors head into new AHL season with high hopes
The Bakersfield Condors begin their AHL season on Friday and with a strong roster, they look capable of challenging for the Pacific Division title.
Tomorrow Is Almost A Must Win
With the poor showing the Edmonton Oilers showed up with on Wednesday this team needs to prove that they can actually play. The Oilers are a Cup favourite, but on Wednesday they did not show that.
On paper, the Oilers are one of the best teams in the league. I assume game one was an off night and the Edmonton Oilers will bounce back tomorrow and they will play a good game and put the Canucks back in their place.